New cookbook helps new cooks master the basics

Want to cook Sunday dinners like your grandmother used to do but don’t know where to start?

The new cookbook “Southern Living Home Cooking Basics: A Complete Illustrated Guide to Southern Cooking” (Oxmoor House $29.95) has you covered. It provides readers with in-depth instructions for making traditional Southern dishes like fried chicken, Brunswick stew, cornbread, deviled eggs, pimento cheese and pound cake.

And by in-depth, we mean not only step-by-step instruction for the recipes, but informative guidelines about everything from cookware and bake ware, herbs and spices and table settings to cooking methods, meat cuts, selecting vegetables and wine pairings. Illustrative color pictures detail how to prepare quick bread, core and shred cabbage, cut a chicken, separate and temper eggs, make mayonnaise by hand and more.

Don’t know how to boil an egg? It tells you – and shows you – how. Still making lumpy mashed potatoes? It comes with advice on how to make them perfect every time.

Geared more towards novice home cooks, the cookbook is a solid resource for cooks of any experience level. Handy substitutions, menu ideas for a multitude of occasions and how to fake tips for cooks short on time are included.

Littered throughout are southern foodlore (“Brussels sprouts were first brought to and cultivated in the United States in the 1700s when the French settled in Louisiana”), kitchen secrets (“press your thumb into centers of patties before grilling for burgers that cook up flat rather than domed”) and common problems/solutions (if the tortillas have dried out, wrap sets of two in damp paper towels and microwave at high 10 to 20 seconds).

With more than 375 recipes and delicious-looking images, it serves up a heaping dish of inspiration. While the cookbook may be southern inspired, many of its recipes aren’t, meaning readers will find instructions for a hearty Italian pot roast and combination fried rice alongside recipes for buttermilk fried okra and shrimp and grits.

CHEDDAR CHEESE GRITS CASSEROLE

4 cups milk

1 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits

¼ cup butter

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 cups (8 oz.) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring milk just to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; gradually whisk in grits and butter. Reduce heat, and simmer, whisking constantly, 5 to 7 minutes or until grits are done. Remove from heat.

Stir in egg and next three ingredients. Pour into a lightly greased 11-by-7-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until mixture is set. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.

ITALIAN POT ROAST

1 (8-oz.) package sliced fresh mushrooms

1 large sweet onion, cut in half and sliced

Page 2 of 3 - 1 (3- to 4-lb.) boneless chuck roast, trimmed

1 tsp. pepper

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 (1-oz.) envelope dry onion soup mix

1 (14-oz.) can beef broth

1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce

3 Tbsp. tomato paste

1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Place mushrooms and onion in a lightly greased 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Sprinkle roast with pepper. Cook roast in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until browned.

Place roast on top of mushrooms and onion in slow cooker. Sprinkle onion soup mix over roast; pour beef broth and tomato sauce over roast. Cover and cook on low 8 to 10 hours or until meat shreds easily with a fork. Transfer roast to a cutting board. Cut roast into large chunks, removing any large pieces of fat; keep warm.

Skim fat from juices in slow cooker; stir in tomato paste and Italian seasoning. Combine cornstarch and 2 Tbsp. water in a small bowl until smooth; add to juices in slow cooker, stirring until blended. Increase slow cooker heat to high. Cover and cook 40 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Stir in roast. Makes 6 servings.